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Design on the right track

A striking, simple and effective brand identity was commissioned for Derbys bid to be the new home of Great British Railways.

Derby was bidding against a shortlist of 42 expressions of interest from towns and cities across the nation, all keen to be the home of the new ‘guiding mind’ for the railways, so the campaign branding had to be catching and memorable. The aim was to capture Derbys rich heritage of rail - an incredible 200-year legacy - but without lingering on it’s past engineering history. It was also important to show that Derby is geographically perfectly placed to be the location of the new GBR headquarters. It was important that the brand conveyed understanding that GBR is about forward thinking, and show that Derby is at the forefront of industry and modern technology.

After much campaigning and promotion by the Derby team, the city was selected by Government to be the home of GBR, beating off fierce competition from the other shortlisted finalists Birmingham, Crewe, Doncaster, Newcastle and York. Congratulations to the team, and here's to a wonderful journey ahead for GBR!